ESTA is intended to give small- to medium-sized alarm dealers a forum to network and exchange ideas without fear of competition, according to an ESTA statement. ESTA members hail from exclusive territories with no geographical overlap, allowing members to help one another throughout the course of the conference.

At the show, members presented marketing techniques, discussed how they’re boosting RMR, and exchanged ideas about how to operate more efficiently. Dialogue also centered on the topic of what new technologies the dealers are deploying to gain an edge in the marketplace.

Karen Baldwin, of California-based Lake Arrowhead Security, gave a presentation showcasing how her social media efforts improved her company’s internet ranking. In the organizational development session, ESTA member Bruce Kopperud, CEO of Comtronix in Casper, Wyo., discussed how he completed a top-to-bottom transformation in the structure and culture of his company in the past year. In the new business segment, Tom Monahan, co-owner of New Jersey-based Tech Services Security, presented an overview outlining IP video surveillance work his company is doing in supermarkets.

Additional highlights of the conference included a one-day financial meeting, where members voluntarily shared their annual profit and loss statements, a question-and-answer session with ESTA’s consulting attorney, and a keynote address delivered by John Garber, senior VP of the Addis Group, who spoke about the Affordable Care Act and its implications for small companies.

Summarizing the 2014 conference, ESTA director Karen Mackey said, in a prepared statement, “Our objective is to give members a way to network, a venue to share their best ideas and a place to get answers so they don’t feel all alone out there. Everyone is going back with plenty of new ideas to implement.”